Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 54

Devanagari script

मातापित्रोरमी भक्ता अमी गोग्रहणे हताः । व्रते दाने जपे यज्ञे स्वाध्याये द्विजतर्पणे

Transliteration

mātāpitroramī bhaktā amī gograhaṇe hatāḥ | vrate dāne jape yajñe svādhyāye dvijatarpaṇe

Translation

Ceux-ci sont dévoués à leur mère et à leur père ; ceux-là ont péri en protégeant les vaches. Dans les vœux, l’aumône, la récitation des mantras, le yajña, l’étude védique et l’offrande qui rassasie les deux-fois-nés—

Word by Word

• मातापित्रोः: of (their) mother and father
• मातापित्रोः: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ (प्रातिपदिक) + पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्वसमास; षष्ठी (6), द्विवचन; (of mother and father)

• अमी: these/those
• अमी: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• भक्ताः: devoted
• भक्ताः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भक्त (प्रातिपदिक; √भज् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past passive participle) used adjectivally: devoted

• अमी: these/those
• अमी: Karta (Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; सर्वनाम

• गोग्रहणे: in the act of seizing cows
• गोग्रहणे: Adhikarana (Location)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोग्रहण (प्रातिपदिक; गो + ग्रहण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; (locative: in/at cow-seizure)

• हताः: slain
• हताः: Visheshana (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत (प्रातिपदिक; √हन् (धातु) + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (slain)

• व्रते: in vow/observance
• व्रते: Adhikarana (Domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्रत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• दाने: in giving/charity
• दाने: Adhikarana (Domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दान (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• जपे: in recitation
• जपे: Adhikarana (Domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• यज्ञे: in sacrifice
• यज्ञे: Adhikarana (Domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• स्वाध्याये: in self-study (Vedic study)
• स्वाध्याये: Adhikarana (Domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वाध्याय (प्रातिपदिक; स्व + अध्याय)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

• द्विजतर्पणे: in satisfying Brahmins (dvijas)
• द्विजतर्पणे: Adhikarana (Domain)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजतर्पण (प्रातिपदिक; द्विज + तर्पण)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन

Speaker

Brahmā (context continuation)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Avimukta-Kāśī

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Ṛṣis (frame audience)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A vibrant Kāśī ritual scene: a devotee bowing to parents, another shielding cows from danger, priests performing yajña, students reciting Veda, and devotees offering tarpaṇa at the riverbank.

Characters & Entities

• Cows
• Dvijas

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Purāṇic dharma esteems service to parents, protection of the vulnerable (symbolized by the cow), and sustained religious disciplines as powerful sources of merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Kāśī-khaṇḍa context frames these acts as especially meaningful within Kāśī’s sacred sphere, though no single tirtha is named in the verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Vrata (vows), dāna (charity), japa, yajña, svādhyāya, and dvija-tarpaṇa are explicitly listed as dharmic practices.